Former president Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. 

In the election, Trump ran again against Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of his reelection campaign this summer. Trump previously won the presidency in 2016 and lost his reelection to former Barack Obama vice president Joe Biden.

The nature of this election is polarizing to some Americans, and some WKU students are unhappy with the outcome. 

“I’m feeling a little devastated from the results,” Gaby Gonzalez, a freshman exercise science major, said.

Other students were content with a second Trump presidency to varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily overjoyed, like, ‘Oh our country is saved this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened,’ but I think that it’s a step in the right direction,” Braydon Schroader, a junior sports management major said.

Tanner Keylon, a freshman journalism major, did not vote in this election because he didn’t like either candidate on the ballot.

According to the policy list on Trump’s official website, he sets out to “seal the border,” and “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” 

Roselyn Serrano, a freshman social work major, said she was worried about what mass deportation would mean for her family who immigrated to America from Mexico.

“It’s like what we’ve worked so hard for, it’s kind of going down the drain,” Serrano said.

Gonzalez, with family from Mexico and Guatemala, said she was worried about the uncertainty of what could happen to family members under a Trump presidency. 

“Will something happen? Will something not happen? That’s one of my biggest worries,” Gonzalez said. 

Some students, however, are in favor of a Trump border policy and believe the current Biden administration is mishandling the American-Mexican border.

“It’s kind of weird for me to say that because I feel like I’ve been pretty liberal my whole life, but under Biden and Kamala, it’s just like borders suck, and it was better under Trump,” Kelyon said.

According to the Associated Press, Trump has outlined an economic policy that would involve tax cuts for the wealthy, repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, creating income tax exemptions for tips, overtime wages and Social Security wages. 

A Trump economic plan would also implement 10% to 20% tariffs on foreign products entering the United States.

Keylon said he is worried about Trump’s economic plan and how it will affect middle-class Americans.

“Trump, he’s obviously a billionaire, and he’s talked about giving these other billionaires and these corporations tax cuts and all that. And I don’t really see that benefiting the middle class at all,” Keylon said.

Maksim Zepfel, a senior professional legal studies major, said he was hopeful for a Trump-run economy but still held apprehension about Trump’s social policies.

“I feel rejoiced from an economic standpoint,” Zepfel said. “I don’t agree with a lot of things on his social policy to some aspect, but I do like the fact that the economy was in a better place four years (ago).”

Zepfel continued, “I’m just excited, ultimately, for a stronger economy, more affordable economy.”

Other students felt Trump would have a strong international presence, for better or for worse. 

Kathleen Asher, a sophomore business management major, said regarding international events, Harris is “very unaware of stuff going on sometimes”.

Asher said she believed Trump would hold more leverage when negotiating foreign wars like the ones in Ukraine and Gaza.

“Other countries in the world respect him, whether us as Americans respect him or not,” Asher said.

Schroader said he worries about how Trump would deal with current global issues.

“I do worry about how he will treat Ukraine, and his relations with North Korea weren’t the best,” Schroader said.

Students disagreed on whether Trump’s proposed cabinet would be an asset or a detriment to his presidency.

While a full cabinet has not been chosen, the Associated Press reports two top names are former opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk. 

“Trump’s new cabinet has a lot of different ideas that are diverse,” Zepfel said. “So I think he’ll be able to reach out to those voters that may be frustrated right now.” 

Disliking the people who may appear on a Trump cabinet, Keylon said, “I don’t really like the kind of people he’s going to be like surrounding himself with.”

Some students felt Kamala’s time as vice president has been underwhelming compared to what Trump accomplished during his presidency.

“Trump’s already shown from his last presidency that he’s done a lot,” Taylor Morgan, a sophomore business management major, said.“Kamala, while she was in office, she didn’t show much.” 

News Reporter Anthony Clauson can be reached at [email protected].